Hiding
by Suninthemorning2
Summary: Three years after Layla and Parker's father's death and being shipped off to live with their mother Olivia, Parker and Layla have been healed, but they can never be cured. So how can Elliot get Layla and Parker to open up to him when they finally meet at the park? Do the kids, especially Layla, learn to trust him? Or will Elliot just be another man to drive them into hiding. E/O
1. Chapter 1

**Stella's back! Hello America, Australia, Japan, China, wherever you are, hello! This is it, you finally get to see my writing abilities with just myself writing a story. This one I have been thinking about ever since I began watching Law and Order, and I kept on writing drawing these pictures in my head on a piece of paper, which lead to legitimately thirty seven pages worth of drawings of scenes for this story. Now I just put it in words, so enjoy! Okay, enjoy the writing, sorry it's so long, I'm currently enrolled in the University of Australia, so I'm really used to writing 10,000 word essay and such. But, at least you'll be occupied! ****-Stella**

* * *

"Liv, you coming?" Elliot asked his partner of six years, Olivia. The captain had just called to the that they all could leave, and Fin had decided to invite the whole squad out for a drink. Olivia shut off her computer and sighed softly.

"No, I'll let you guys go on ahead, I need to go home and get some sleep." Olivia lied, standing up and pushing in her chair. She grabbed her coat off of the edge and wrapped it around her shoulders, then looked up at the team.

"Oh I get it, the only female detective's got a hot date tonight. Well, just remind him for me, Baby Girl, whatever he does to you, I do to him." Fin threatened jokingly. Olivia laughed and shook her head, who she was going home to was far more important than a date.

"Well... That is very sweet of you, Fin. But what I do at home with him, you do NOT want to do." Olivia chuckled. She looked over to her partner and best friend Elliot who had the most vicious look in his eyes, and smiled mischievously at him.

"OK, I did not need that image in my head, thank you very much." Munch laughed.

Everyone chuckled at the elderly detective and sighed happily... This was their every day lives. This was their family away from family. And no matter how much any one of them would fess up to it, all of them would take their own lives for one another. Olivia smiled at the group one more time, then gently brushed past Elliot and the others, walking out of the squad room doors. Elliot growled in frustration and looked towards Fin.

"She doesn't actually have a date, does she?" Elliot huffed with jealously.

"Dude, unless she's sneaking out with you in the middle of the night and bringin' you over to her place, I don't think so." Fin laughed, patting the fellow detective's back.

Elliot rolled his eyes and sighed. Ever since Olivia moved three years ago, he had never seen her apartment. She would always meet up with him half way to a crime scene or stop by his house, never the other way around. Sure, she had given him the address for emergency purposes, but every time he would try to come over she would refuse. Elliot sighed again and took Fin's hand off his back, then adjusted his coat again.

"Come on guys, lets get going." He said finally.

The other two detectives agreed, and off they went to the squad's favorite bar, just... missing a squad member.

* * *

"Parker, Mommy's home!" Five year old Layla called out to her older brother when she heard the lock on the door begin to unlock itself. Her and her six year old brother Parker were both sitting on the floor in the living room, with their babysitter and godmother Alice in the kitchen, playing with their toys. Parker looked up from his toy cars and smiled at his younger sister. They both jumped up and ran to the front door just in time for it to open.

"Mommy!" Layla cheered, jumping up and down when her mother got a sight of her and her brother.

Olivia smiled and bent down, picking up her daughter in her arms. She began to tickle her wildly, saying hello in a raspy voice at the top of her lungs so Layla could hear her over her own fit of giggles. Olivia set her youngest child down on the ground and took a step to the side over to Parker. He smiled up at her as she bent down and held out her hand for him to high five.

"What's up, Little Man?" She greeted him with their regular greeting.

"Not much, Pretty Lady." He said back in a country accent. Parker and Layla had always been obsessed with the movie Toy Story, and since Woody was his favorite character, he sometimes would walk around the house in his little cowboy outfit and pretend to be the sheriff of his house, calling his sister, mother, and Alice 'Pretty Lady'.

Olivia laughed and grabbed her son, kissing his cheek quickly before he jumped away, since 'kisses were for girls'. Yeah, she could get used to that attitude from Parker, in just a few years he might actually be kissing girls himself. But Olivia was just going to wait for that day to come, because she definitely not looking forward to it.

"I missed you guys! So tell me what you did today." Olivia smiled, closing the front door and walking with her kids over to the middle of the living room where the kids' toys lay forgotten. She sat down on the floor in front of the coach, pulling Layla up onto lap and Parker right next to her side.

"We went to school, and then I went to art class today 'cause it's Friday and we always do art on Friday. And I painted a picture, and Ms. Ryan liked it, and then when we go'd back to the classroom, we had to read for ten whole minutes. And we telled time, and we..." Layla went on happily. Olivia smiled and giggled at her daughter and her slight lack of vocabulary.

"Did anything but learned how to talk! Go'd isn't a word, Layla. Neither is telled." Parker corrected her. He had a problem with doing that with his sister. He didn't mean to intimidate her or hurt her feelings, he was only trying to get her up to his level, but whenever he would correct her it would make Layla feel a little shallow, like she didn't know anything. But she had a good reason, she had PPD, Paranoid Personality Disorder. Her and her brother both had personality disorders, that were both suggested from coming from living with their father for three most of their lives, and Layla's disorder was very fatal to who she trusted. She was constantly suspicious of what others would say to her, didn't believe that they were telling her the truth. And she never took criticism well, she thought it was a human's way of telling her they didn't trust her.

"Oh, come on Park. You were the exact same way last year, she doesn't know any better, OK?" Olivia reminded him. Parker nodded apologetically and looked over to his sister who was sticking her tongue out at him. He giggled and stuck his out at her as well, then they both began to laugh.

"Alright, you two! So Parker, what's the deal with your day?" Olivia asked, shaking his arm lightly.

"He got in a fight at school!" Olivia heard an older voice say. Olivia looked up to see her best friend and babysitter Alice coming through the kitchen door with a glass bowl and towel in her hands. Olivia looked down at Parker, expecting him to explain?

"What about a fight?" She asked him almost worriedly, almost threateningly. This was Parker's disorder, BPD, Borderline Personality Disorder. He had been diagnosed with it almost a year ago, and as the days go by it affects him more and more. BPD is a disorder that also affects your judgment, just like Layla, but Parker's disorder made him handle his judgment differently. Instead of shutting people out or having a constant paranoia of them leaving, like Layla did, he would react with anger, with violence. He took out his fear of being abandoned by his mother just like his father by hitting things, people, anything he could find. He took out his intolerance of being alone by hurting himself, because when he would hurt himself, just like hurting someone else, it got people's attention.

"I had to go pick him up from the principal's office after his lunch recess today and talk with the principal for quite awhile about Parker's bad behavior today." Alice explained.

"It wasn't on purpose I swear! I just, there was this bully that had his friends come pick on me, and I told his friends to leave me alone, 'cause I was scared, they were fifth graders. But then the bully came over and pushed me! I just got mad, mom, I didn't wanna hit him, it... it just happened!" Parker rambled on.

Olivia sighed in contempt and ran her hand down Parker's dark brown hair. Sometimes it was just too much to have to deal with two mentally disordered children. She was only one woman, after all. And all of the medicine and play therapy for the two took a toll on all of them, then she had to make sure the kids went to school, that either Alice was home or she called her other babysitter for them, it was hard being a parent and a detective. Sometimes she wished that she could just quit her job; maybe if was home more Parker wouldn't get in so many fights with bullies, maybe Layla wouldn't get yelled at by teachers for confronting them.

"I know, Parker... It's just that, remember when you went to go see doctor Tami and she told you that whenever you feel mad at any bullies to just walk away? And remember what I always told you about the bullies?" Olivia mumbled softly to him. She couldn't stay too mad at him, she knew that he really couldn't help it, but sometimes he just needed to think before he acted out.

"Let you come to school and beat up the bullies so you can get in trouble instead of me." Parker grinned at his mother, remembering the phrase she would always tell him when he was upset about school.

"That's right. You remember that next time, okay? And I want you to go to school tomorrow morning and apologize to this bully." Olivia insisted, putting Layla down on the other side of her on the floor, then began to rub Parker's back lightly.

"And at recess, when the ankle biter's mom isn't there to protect him, then you can tell him all about how your mother is a detective and that she can easily beat him up." Alice joked with Parker from the other side of the room. Parker looked over to Alice and laughed with her. Alice was like Layla and Parker's second mother, one of the few people they truly trusted.

"Ally, don't you dare give him any ideas." Olivia warned Alice with an intimidating look in her eyes. Alice laughed and threw her hands up in the air.

"Hey don't look at me! I'm just the nanny in this situation." Alice defended with a chuckle. She turned around and pushed her side onto the swinging door to the kitchen and looked back to Parker again before she left to go finish drying the hand wash- required dishes.

"But... in Park's defense... he did some really good damage to that kid, I saw him before we left, nice big ole bruise on his nose!" Alice laughed, then pushed herself off of the door and let it swing itself shut.

Parker laughed nervously and looked to his mother who had a funny smile on her face.

"That's my boy!" Olivia cheered, giving Parker another high five.

Olivia, Parker, and Layla all shared a jolly laugh together and then spent the rest of the evening in the living room, playing with toys, with dining room chairs by making mini forts, and with each other, Alice eventually joining in until bedtime for the kids.

* * *

"So how was work today?" Alice asked Olivia, both of them plopping down on the couch after putting the kids to bed and picking up their toys.

"Oh you know, the same. My friends keep on joking around with me, captain keeps yelling at us to get to work, cases seem to get harder and harder." Olivia said plainly.

"I get it. Before I had to go pick up Parker from school I was being crucified by Kenny because he hated my graphite job in the background of the new music video we're doing for uh... I can't even remember their name. But anyway, I almost got fired again, 'cause I told him to go fuck himself and that I wasn't painting that graphite all over again." Alice laughed, remembering the expression she left on her boss' face.

Alice had been doing production design for Indigo Productions for about seven years now, that was her gift. Her dream was to work for BlumHouse Productions, making all of the number one horror movie designs in the world, free to let her passion for design show. She also had a dream to open her own design company, but for now she was just working at her current job, applying for others all over the world.

"You've got to be kidding! You did that exact same design in Parker's old room when he was a baby and I absolutely loved it." Olivia ranted.

"I know right! And now he wants me to do a painting of a little girls room for some new commercial. I showed him the design I was hired to paint in that other girls room a few years ago? He said it looks like a raccoon shit on it." She recited.

"Oh the little butterfly room? He's got to be on crack or something if he thinks that one is horrible for a little girls room. It looks like you took a picture of the outdoors and stuck it on a wall you were so precise." Olivia reminded her.

"Thank you!" Alice laughed.

"Well, I remember you painting Layla's room three years ago when she just moved back. She to this day loves that room." Olivia complimented.

"Well that's because I did it and I'm amazing." Alice joked. Olivia laughed and playfully smacked her in the arm.

The two best friends sat on the couch the rest of the night, quietly laughing and gossiping about whatever had popped into the two minds, until they eventually fell asleep.

A few hours later, at some ungodly hour in the morning, the two best friends were awoken by the buzz of Olivia's phone. They had both had fallen asleep together on the couch, legs entangled with one another and hair, well, Alice's that is since Olivia's was still short, in the other's face. They did this kind of stuff all of the time, shared a bed, drank out of the same cup, borrowed each other's clothes, including underwear, and the whole nine yards. That's what best friends were for, not waking each other up at five in the morning by your cell phone ringing.

"Benson." Olivia answered.

"Morning Liv, did I interrupt your sleep?" She heard Elliot ask on the other end of the call.

Alice heard the voice on Olivia's phone and called out to it:

"You ruined mine, asshole!" Followed by a fit of giggles.

Alice's voice being a little deeper than a normal woman's voice, Elliot immediately jumped to conclusion and figured it was a man. Olivia could feel his jealousy through the phone, she was so used to her partner. But it secretly made her smile, how he was so protective of her. But she knew he didn't have the same feeling for her that she had for him.

"Is their a man at your house, Liv? What are you doing?" Elliot asked harshly.

"I fell asleep on my couch, talking to a close _girl _friend back from high school, El. Don't freak out, she's straight and doesn't want anything to do with my body." Olivia laughed at Elliot's insecurity. He sometimes reminded her of her daughter, how he would confront her every time he thought she was with a man and would demand for her to tell him every detail about the man if she was with one before he would let her go.

"Oh... I'm sorry, Liv. You know what job we do... I don't want the kind of things we see happening to you, one of my best friends..." He only wished she could be more, though.

"I know, Elliot. So, is their a case, or did you call for phone sex, 'cause my line has been open all night." Again, Elliot heard a fit of giggles in the background after Olivia had said that. Yeah, that was most definitely a girl.

"Haha Liv, very funny. No case, Melinda just wants us to come over to the lab to discuss some injuries she just discovered for the James' case. Then Cragen wants our old DD5's from the last case in by seven sharp. We're expected down there in an hour." Olivia sighed and nodded even though he couldn't see her.

"Alright, I'll be there soon." Olivia sighed.

"Wait, Olivia. Do you need a ride?" Elliot asked her the annual question.

"No, I'm alright, thanks El. I have to take my friend home anyways." Olivia lied, she knew Alice was spending the night here in her room, well technically the guest room, but just like Layla's room Alice had already painted it and designed it just the way she wanted, even furnished it with her own money. The guest room had been her 'self present' to Olivia when she first bought the apartment that they had basically shared.

"Oh, okay. Just call me if you change your mind." Elliot sighed.

"I will, Elliot. Bye." He could practically hear her smile, her beautiful smile. Then she hung up.

"Haha, taking your friend home. Then who's gonna watch your kids, bitch?" Alice joked, a sleep deprived giggle coming out of her for the third time since she woke up.

"I've got another babysitter I could call, so don't push it." Olivia snapped playfully, throwing one of the couch pillows at Alice's head.

"I'm ready to go home when you're ready to drive me... I'm too tired to drive. I wake up at seven, not five!" Alice chuckled.

"Well, welcome to the life of a detective. I wake up when my boss tells me to." Olivia griped, getting up off of the couch and walking down the hallway and into Alice's/ the guest room with Alice. Alice immediately plopped down on the bed while Olivia went over to the blue and white dresser. She pulled out one of Alice's favorite magenta silk v neck button down blouse's that Alice would always wear under their suit like jackets to work, even though Olivia never wore a jacket.

"I'm borrowing this." Olivia told Alice, holding up the shirt for Alice to see before she walked away to her room to get some work pants and a new bra and panties. When she returned to the room she had the pants on and was putting the shirt around her shoulders. Alice looked up to the shirt and sighed with a chuckle.

"Just don't get any blood or gun powder on it, detective." Alice teased.

"Oh shut up, Ally." Olivia sighed, buttoning up the second to first button on the shirt then stopping.

"Oh no you don't! According to what you've told me about him you've got a hot partner out their waiting for you. So sure, your boobs aren't nearly as big as mine, but come on! Give him something to look at!" Alice almost shouted.

"Alice, shut up! You're going to wake up the kids!" Olivia scolded, walking over to the side of Alice's queen sized bed and looking at the light blue painted walls to the mirror when she remembered what she was supposed to be doing that day.

"Fuck! I promised the kids I'd take them to the park today. God damn it, they are going to be so upset with me... especially Lala, oh god, I feel so bad" Olivia sighed, running a hand through her short hair.

Alice groaned and flipped over on her bed, throwing her head into her pillow.

"Don't worry, Liv. I'll take them to the park, then to the movies or something. I'll explain why you had to leave, they'll understand just like every time you got called in. Don't worry, foxy." Alice mumbled.

"Oh, thank you so much, Ally. I owe you big time. Alright I've got to go, make sure Layla and Parker take **the right pills**! I don't want to meet you at the doctors again after convincing my partner I could really take myself to the hospital my myself." Olivia warned, Alice may have been Olivia's best friend and her children's godmother, but she still wasn't afraid to shoot her.

"One time, Olivia. One time." Alice grumbled, hearing her door close shortly after she said it.

* * *

"Ally I'm gonna go on the monkey bars!" Parker called behind to Alice who was sitting on a park bench, watching him and Layla play in the playground of their favorite little children's park.

"Ally, I'm going over to the castle!" Layla called from behind her shoulder, skipping over to the large tree house like thing full of swings and all sorts of child like devices that connected to the house.

"Alright guys, just remember, if you want to go onto the basketball court I've got a basketball here for you, and don't go past the court without telling me." Alice called to both of them. Even though she was going to be sitting there watching them the whole time it only took three seconds to loose a child up in New York.

"OKAY!" Both kids shout to her, then run their separate ways.

Layla ran to one of the bright red ladders that led to a deep green tunnel. Once in the big tube she smiled and giggled softly to herself. 'So cool' she thought, crawling through the green on her hands and knees, even thought if she bent down just a little, barely any, she was so short that she could probably walk through the whole tunnel. She turned a corner in the bright tube and got to the point where the paint changed from dark green to a baby blue, then after she put her had out again it hit hardwood. She looked up and noticed that the tunnel had ended, and that she reached the tree house part of this little device like thing. She crawled through the exit of the tube and stood up on her knees, then to her feet.

"Hey! Please! Can you help me?" Layla heard a mysterious voice whine.

She looked over to her side and squinted in curiosity, just like her mother did with her eyes when she was figuring something out. She found a little girl in the corner of the tree house, huddled into a ball against the wood. The cop mode of Layla's genes suddenly came out, and walked over to the little girl. She looked Layla's age, maybe a year younger. Layla held out her hand for the girl and helped her up to her feet. She was filthy, dirt and mud was covering the girl head to toe, and there was a big blood stain on her knee, a scrape. Probably from crawling on the wood. There was also a blood stain on the right side of her forehead, but that was definitely not a scrape.

"Are you alright?" Layla asked the girl worriedly.

"No, my knee hurts, and my head, and I wanna go home but my mommy left me here alone and told me to never come back. I don't where to go, I'm hungry but I got no food." The girl almost cried. She looked to the side of the tree house and over to a hole in the wood. She couldn't see her mother out of the hole like she could the first five minutes of being in the tree house, yesterday.

"Can you walk?" Layla asked hopefully. She wanted to get away from this strange girl as soon as possible, she didn't trust her with any fiber of her being.

"Yeah, why?" The girl said.

"'Cause, Ally is down there and she'll know what to do." Layla rambled quickly, why wouldn't the girl leave?!

"No! Al will hurt me, boys always hurt me!" The girl started to cry softly and ran back to the corner as far away from Layla as possible.

Layla groaned and balled up her fists in frustration. She didn't like this girl's little act, she felt a little manipulated by her. Of course Ally was a girl, why was this girl twisting her words?

"No! I said Ally, not Al! As in Alice, a girl!" Layla screamed. The girl wiped her eyes slowly and looked up to Layla hopefully.

"Is she nice?" She whispered.

Layla sighed, finally this girl would trust her and leave... except now she didn't really want her to leave... she was beginning to trust her believe it or not. Just they way she dropped all of her guards and trusted Layla to lead her to help impressed Layla.

"Yeah, real nice. And she gives me and Parker candy all the time. But don't worry, Parker is only a year older than me, and I can kick his butt!" Layla giggled, making the girl giggle too.

"Okay, come on we'll take the slide since it's faster." The girl insisted, grabbing Layla's hand and pulling her with her down the slide. Layla and the girl got off the swing, the girl getting Layla's help since she was so weak.

"What's your name?" Layla asked, she needed the girls name before she could trust her.

"Macy." She almost whispered.

"That's pretty, I have a dolly at home name Macy, too. I'm Layla." Layla smiled. She grabbed Macy's hand and guided her over towards the park benches.

Alice saw Layla walking towards her holding a dirty girls hand and stood up confused, walking towards. Layla felt a tug on her hand and then felt it hit the open air as Macy let go of it and stumbled back in fear.

"Macy, come on. That's Alice. Ally! Macy needs your help, she's hungry!" Layla called out.

* * *

"Alright, so here's what we're gonna do. We've been told the victim does not like men, so we're just going to have me, Fin, and Munch walk past her and let her get over the fact that we're there, then Liv, you go down and open up to her, get her to talk to you." Elliot reversed his thoughts out loud. Munch, Fin, and Olivia all nodded in agreement, and the three male detectives started walking down the grass hill towards the woman with the three kids on the benches.

"Miss Barres?" Elliot called out curiously. When she looked up, that was his answer.

"Hi, I'm Alice. Nice to meet you." Alice smiled and stood up and shook the handsome man's hand.

"Hello Alice. Hey guys, my name's Elliot. Who are you three?" Elliot asked the three kids sitting on the bench. They were all huddled as closely together as could possibly be, with the little boy sitting before the two little girls with one arm wrapped over them, hanging onto the railing of the bench. Parker used to do this to his sister all the time... back when they lived with their dad.

"Parker." The boy said quietly. Elliot could tell that the kids weren't really in to strangers. He sighed and looked over to the little girl, the clean one.

"Layla." She mumbled just as softly. Finally came the last one, the victim. She was close to tear, because of all of the men surrounding her. Parker was enough to deal with, but with three big, strong, male detectives, she wanted to go crawl into a hole, put the dirt from the hole back ontop of her, and sufficate. The three men sighed sadly, and decided tht it was time to move on.

"So anyway girls, and boy, we've just got a few questions that we would like to ask the two of you, so why don't you, Parker, you go with my friend Fin over there and you, miss Layla, how about you come spend some time with me, we can go play by the swings if you'd like." Elliot offered, pointing Parker of to Fin then looking down at Layla hopefully. Layla looked away from Elliot and bit her lip nervously. She was sick and tired of people today, she wanted to go home, where she would only be around the people she liked, and maybe Macy, if she was lucky.

"I like the tunnels..." Layla murmured, nudging her head towards the red ladder across the park.

"Why don't you n me go over to the basketball court, kid? Let's see if you can beat me in a game of ball." Elliot heard Fin say to Parker, grabbing the basketball off of the park bench. He saw Munch and Alice walking away over to a line of bushes where they could talk in private, and after Parker had loosened up to Fin and decided to join him on the ball court, it was just him, Layla and Macy.

"So what'd ya say, Layla? Care to join me in the tunnels?" Elliot smiled at the small girl and held out his hand.

Layla squinted her eyes down at his hand curiously thinking about if she should take it or not. She kept on trying to find something wrong with this big scary man, but she just couldn't... And that's what scared her most bout him, with everyone else she's seen in life, even students and teachers, she had always found at least one flaw with their personality, something that give her a reason to run away. But there wasn't anything wrong with Elliot, he was... special. She hesitantly stretched out her arm and reluctantly grabbed his hand, hopping off of the bench.

''That's it, there we go. I'm won't hurt you." Elliot said softly to her as she climbed off of the bench and got onto her feet. Macy watched the man in awe as he walked with her over to the same little red ladder. She liked him, a lot. She wished that her father was like that.

Elliot and Layla reached the monkey bars together and Layla looked up and Elliot, wondering what to do next. Elliot thought about it for a second and smiled, lifting Layla into the air for a second, then swerving her body to the side and placing her down on one of the higher bars of the ladder so she would look down at him, so he wouldn't overpower her in her mind. He used this technique on all kinds of kids, lifted them onto his desk and then knelt down so he would be the one who had to look up at them instead of him. It would make most kids have a sense of power over him, and it made most kids loosen up their nerves a little and relax.

But Layla was different. When he lifted her up, she only tensed up more and squirmed around a little, kind of like she wanted to run away from him. Elliot could tell that their was definitely either something wrong with himself or something wrong with her, but he couldn't figure out what. Olivia looked over to Elliot and the girl and smiled, they were secured over there. Then she looked down to the little girl down at the park bench, curled up in a ball, all covered in dirt and dried leaves, waiting for her three saviors to come back to her. Olivia took a deep breath and began to walk down the hill towards the girl.

"So Layla, can you tell me how old you are?" Elliot asked her hopefully.

Layla looked over to the basketball court quickly, in rapid search of someone familiar to her to look at. She saw Parker giggling and laughing with the cop and try to block his shot for the basket, that he missed anyway. Layla grinned at her brother and looked back to Elliot with a soft smile, holding up five fingers.

"You're five? I loved being five! Who's your teacher at school?" Elliot looked at her quizzically, noticing how she would always turn to brother before she answered. She was smart to know that looking at her brother would calm her, but he only wondered why she needed his comfort.

"Mrs. Brownley. I don't like her..."

"Really? Why not?"

"'Cause she looks fishy to me... I don't like her." Layla sighed and looked down to her feet, she wanted her mother. But little did she know she was right there.

**-Macy-**

"Hi there, Macy. My name's Olivia, and some of my buddies from work told me that you've been out here a long time, is that right?" Olivia bent down to Macy's level and smiled at her. Macy looked up down at Olivia, she was pretty. But she knew that pretty and beautiful were two different things, if there was anything her father had taught her in life it was that. Her real mother was really pretty, but she was an ugly soul, she was almost evil. And it always washed over her external beauty.

"Are you a police officer?" Macy asked softly, clearing her throat and scooting towards Olivia on the bench by her knees, she seethed every time the dirty metal hit her scraped knee. Olivia looked down to Macy's bloody knee and almost winced herself.

Oh goodness sweetheart, your knee. Here, let me fix that for you." Olivia insisted. Macy grabbed onto Olivia's hand and let her help her sit down properly with her knee out so Olivia could 'fix it'. She searched through her back pockets before she felt the little belt loop on the side of her pants and detached her little first aid kit from her side. She always wondered why she was required to carry this stupid thing around, well now she knew why. For scraped knees, right. She picked out one of the larger bandages and picked up a little wrapped up baby wipe, then zipped up the thing and reattached it to her belt loop.

"Give me your knee, sweetie." Olivia kindly demanded.

"Now this might sting a little, okay?" Olivia reassured her, rubbing the tiny baby wipe around her knee to clean it off. Macy started to wince and whimper as the alcohol started to rub in to her skin, but Olivia being a mother of two knew it would be best if she just distracted her with something else as she put her bandage on her knee.

"Yes, I am a police officer, Macy. And I came here to help you fix your problem." Olivia smiled, patting Macy's new bandaged knee. Macy looked down t her 'fixed' problem and smiled at Olivia. Not only was she pretty, she was beautiful, here dad would say. A beautiful soul.

"But you just did, my knee don't hurt no more!" Macy smiled, climbing off of the bench and walking closer to Olivia, sitting down in her lap.

Olivia laughed at the cute little girl's enthusiasm towards being round her, she reminded her of her daughter when she was at home, nice happy and cheerful.

"No, baby not that problem. Your problem is is that we need to get you home." Olivia explained.

The jumpy and playful Macy was then gone.

"I'm not going there. I hate it there, and Daddy hates me, so do his friends. Mommy calls me trash. When I get home from school Daddy drags me down to the basement and hits me until his friends show up... then they hurt me." Macy said, surprisingly furious.

"Really. Well how does he hurt you, Macy?" Olivia asked.

"I don't know what it's called... Daddy calls it the F word, though. He makes me take off my panties and... and he, puts things here..." Macy whined, pointing to her stomach.

"He puts things in your tummy?" Olivia asked, this did not sound good.

"Yah, I thinks it's where the stuff goes. Daddy makes his friends put these weird long blue sticks in my no-no spot, and I think they disappear to my tummy, but it really hurts... I don't wanna go back there, miss Olivia." Macy began to cry softly into Olivia's shoulder, Olivia gently rubbing her back. Olivia couldn't even think straight at this point, why would any human want to hurt a little girl so sweet?

**-Layla-**

"So when you first saw Macy she asked for your help?" Elliot finished. That was the last question he needed to know from her right now, but then he kind wanted to get to know this sweet girl.

"Yeah. And she said that I shouldn't Ally 'cause she thought I said Al and she doesn't like boys. When I told her her name was Alice she came with me." Layla said fondly. She had kind of gotten used to Elliot, it was kind of like when she first met Alice a few years back.

"So... you're a detective?" Layla asked him suspiciously.

Elliot looked up at her and chuckled. Finally she was opening up to him.

"Yes, yes I am." Elliot answered.

"Lemme see your badge then." Layla ordered deviously. She held out her hand and wiggled her fingers towards him, waiting for him to put his shield in her hand. Elliot looked at her wide eyed and laughed. What had gotten into the shy girl from a few minutes ago? He pulled his badge out of his front pocket and put the heavy metal scrap into her hands.

She immediately started eyeing every inch of it, to make sure that he wasn't lying to her. Her mother had once caught her peeking at her badge and had taught her everything there was to know about what she needed to look for when a police officer ever showed her their badge. There in the center was his badge number, 6313. Then on the top and bottom was the top and bottom of a bald eagle. And on the sides it read 'New York Police'. Layla smiled and handed Elliot his badge back.

"You seemed to like my badge. Maybe if I can talk your mom into it I can get you one of your own." Elliot offered.

"My mom lets me play with hers all the time, though. And my brother Parker has the same one as Woody from Toy Story and he lets me play with it." Layla said.

"Your mother is a police officer?" Elliot said surprised. So that's why she had the instinct to protect Macy.

Layla smiled and nodded.

"A detective. She goes undercover and destroys the bad guys. She always tells me she's as good as James Bond." Layla smiled. Maybe it wasn't so bad talking to Elliot after all. He was just like her mom.

Elliot looked at her shocked and a little confused. He knew that saying. Olivia said that all the time.

"Really. My partner says that saying all the time." Elliot told Layla.

"Cool! What's his name?" Layla asked excitedly, resting her chin on her hands and her elbows on her knees.

"She's a girl, actually. And her name is Oliv-" Elliot began.

Suddenly, Elliot and Parker heard Parker from the basketball court. "MOM! I JUST BEAT YOUR WORK FRIEND SO HARD AT BASKETBALL!" Layla's head shot to the head where Olivia and Alice were walking towards Parker. Parker ran into Olivia's arms, causing her to stumble back a bit. Layla turned her head around and looked over to Olivia with bright eyes.

"That's her, that's her!" Layla squealed. She fumbled down the steps of the ladder and stopped on the ground, then started to run to Olivia, leaving Elliot, shocked, angry, confused, and at a definite loss of words.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello I'm back people! And just to let you know, if your asking... College is brutal! You all know that I'm not really in to short chapters but it's my last year at UoS, so they've got my arms and legs tied. So anyways, I've only got a short time to write this, so I hope you like it!**

**(Information)**

**Elliot: 36 Alice: 35**

**Olivia: 34 Maureen: 15**

**Parker: 6 Kathleen: 13**

**Layla: 5 Lizzie/Dickie: 8**

* * *

"Mommy, why is Elliot mad at you?" Layla asked as her Olivia and Parker all walked through the front door. Olivia furrowed her brow in confusion, she knew Elliot was beyond furious at her but she didn't see how Layla could have figured out.

After the confrontation at the park earlier that day, Alice had left with Fin to go take her statement and then went to work, so Olivia was left with the kids. Munch and Fin had found out about Layla and Parker as well, and Munch called Olivia in sick with the captain so she could go home. After Elliot was done talking with Layla and Parker he didn't say a word to anyone, he just left.

"I don't know, sweetie. Where did you get that idea from, anyway?" Olivia asked her.

"Dunno. He was just squinting a lot at you, like you do when you get mad at me when I break my toys." Layla explained fondly. She walked passed Olivia to go over to her Barbie dolls she left out from earlier that day.

"Well, don't worry about it too much, La la. I' a big girl, I can handle myself, okay?" Olivia assured her.

Layla nodded from across the room and devoted her attention to the barbies. Olivia looked over to Parker by her side. He rolled his eyes at the mention of Elliot and stared at the ground with his arms across his chest.

"Hey Park, that goes for you too. You don't have to worry about Elliot either, he's my problem to deal with. Now, come on. You need to go change into your monkey suit before Alice comes to pick you up for dragon city." Olivia patted his stomach, referring to his martial arts class he was supposed to attend that night.

Parker smirked and sighed, running off to his room to go change. Ah, those kids.

Olivia pulled out her phone and dialed Alice's cell.

_This is Ally. _She answered.

"Alice, it's Liv. Are you still planning on taking Parker to his class tonight?" Olivia asked. It was really no big deal of not, she was just curious.

_Yeah, I'm actually on my way right now I should be at your door in like, three minutes._

"Okay, we'll be here waiting." Olivia said...

* * *

It was late at night, almost one in the morning, when Olivia and Alice heard a soft pound on the door. Olivia shuffled out of her slumber and groaned, slipping away from her warm covers and to the front door.

Leave it to Elliot Stabler to come banging on your door at some ungodly hour in the morning.

"El, what are you doing here it's one in the morning." Olivia bickered.

"Liv, listen we need to talk, privately..." Elliot insisted. He had been working forever on what he would say to her. He was just so upset... You didn't hide something as precious a life- let alone two of them- from your partner.

"And you couldn't wait another five hours to see me?" Olivia rubbed her eyes with annoyance, stepping aside and letting inside.

"No, no you've obviously been waiting for six years now I don't need to wait another five hours." Elliot spat. He turned around and glanced at her shocked face. He hated to shock her like that, it broke her trust for him. But it needed to be done. His trust was temporarily broken for her, now she needed to feel what he felt.

"What? Okay, since when was my personal life ever your business?" Olivia fired back at him.

"Since that day you walked into the goddamed squad room, Olivia! Every minute to breath, sleep, run, walk I need to know. Because if I don't, no one's there to keep you out of trouble." Elliot started to shout.

"Keep me out of trouble? Really? Who was the one that needed their ass covered six times in just one month for lashing out at perps? It certainly wasn't me." Olivia scooted closer to him and got close to his face so they were toe to toe.

"Well at least you know about all of my kids... Where did you even hide them? Where did they go when I came here, huh? Did they magically disappear?" Elliot never lowered his voice, it only got louder by the second. Olivia desperately wanted to shut him up so her kids could sleep, she knew if they woke up they were never getting back to bed, but there was nothing she could do. Elliot was fuming, and nobody ever messed with a pissed off Stabler... Well, not too much.

"I didn't have to hide them, you bitch! I didn't have them, okay? They weren't here! They were in California, as far away from me as possible, with their dead beat dad who probably couldn't care less about them... I've only had them for three years, El. I wasn't planning on bringing you in to mess their lives up more than it already is." Olivia couldn't even say the last part, she had to squeak it out like a mouse due to all the frustration and terrible memories filling her head.

Elliot didn't even know what to say. He was expecting some stupid answer like it wasn't his business or he didn't need to know or something like that. He definitely wasn't expecting something like that.

All of the pieces were coming together. Parker's pushiness towards Elliot the minute he heard the word "friend". Layla's reluctant state of mind towards him in general. It all fit together, they were scarred. But after three years, why? Elliot wouldn't hurt a fly around children, he especially wouldn't hurt them. They were so sweet.

"Mommy, why is you so loud? I can't sleep!" Layla whined, walking down the hall. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw tears in Olivia's eyes, with Elliot standing right next to her. It was happening again, Layla and Parker called it "the eruption".

Layla's bottom lip started to quiver as she figured out her own little puzzle to the mystery and she stomped her foot in frustration. How could Elliot hit her mom? She was furious, mad, out of proportion, downright crazy at this point, with red hot tears rushing down her face.

"Why does this happen every time! Detective Elliot what're you doing here! Get out, get out!" Layla screamed. She sounded more like a possessed human more than herself, much more growly and low pitched. Olivia shot her head away from Elliot and ran to Layla's rumbling, furious body and shook her lightly.

"Layla, stop. Don't start with the shaking and the screaming so late at night. I'm fine, so are you." Olivia didn't stop shaking her until she felt her body tense, then she looked into her eyes. Layla looked exhausted, weak. That's what happened to her after her little 'attacks' as the doctor would say. Her body would become weak, shut down on her, leaving nothing but a broken down Layla.

Layla just stood, sucking in her breath with her arms crossed over her chest. She was not in the mood for a pep talk from her mother. Not after what she just saw.

"I knew he wasn't a good guy like you. Why do you always let the mean guys date you, mom? They always hurt me and you and Parker!" Layla whined. Olivia knew by the words and tone of voice that this was going to turn out in a fit of tears. Layla only called Olivia mom instead of mommy or muma (MUH-mah) when she was about to cry.

"No, that's not always true. Remember Ally's boss, uncle Kenny? You like uncle Kenny and it's kinda like I date uncle Kenny." Olivia lied, anything to cheer her daughter up.

"No! You don't smooch uncle Kenny. And either way, uncle Kenny's nice 'cause he's super old. Elliot's young, he can run away. Just like you did." Layla scolded.

Ouch, that stung. She was only five, she still didn't realize that Olivia didn't intentionally 'run away', but was forced to. By law, something else Layla didn't know about.

"Layla? I'm sorry if I made you upset, I hope you know that I would never run away from you or your mommy. I would never hurt you two either. Or Parker." Elliot tried.

God, why couldn't Layla hate that man? Well she could, at that point she hated him with a passion. But still, she was drawn to him, he was her heroin, her drug, her addiction. Even though she wanted to, she couldn't get away from him.

"Stop talking to me. You're just like my dad, you lying about hurting me. I'm not stupid, detective Elliot! Big boys like you hurt girls like me and mom. Parker said so." Layla insisted, referring to her and Parker's survival rule back in California. Their dad and his friends hurt kids and women like them, they were easy bait. So if you intimidated them or just laid low, they wouldn't notice.

"Sweetheart, your brother and you aren't always right about that kind of stuff. Sure Elliot's big, but he really is my friend. And remember, friends don't hurt other friends." Olivia tried.

But in Layla's 'mad' world, they did.

Layla's lip quivered out of frustration and sorrow. She gave up. Elliot was just a bad person, she would have to prove it to her mother later. For now, she wiggled out of her mothers grasp, and ran to her man repellant, Parker...

* * *

He was already awake when Layla busted into his room, sitting straight on his bed and looking at the door. Both of them knew that this day would come again. That there would be a day when a man just as bad as their father came along to ruin their lives and steal them from Olivia.

"I hate this life!" Layla screeched when she slammed the door, running to the corner of Parker's room. Parker was the only boy that Layla ever trusted, she knew if she went into the corner and cried, Parker would know when to leave her be and when to go comfort her. He always knew, he understood what she was going through.

Parker slowly lifted himself and trotted over to her, kind of like a zombie. He bent down right next to her and placed a hand on her back.

"Don't cry. Crying shows weakness and only makes it worse." Parker explained seriously. Layla looked up at him and sniffled.

"Detective Elliot's here. He was yelling at mommy and doing just what daddy used to do." She whispered. She didn't want the adults to hear them.

Parker and Layla never ever used the word hit. It was against them, it brought back too many memories. Of when they would get in trouble with their father, when their dad would bring home sluts and then after having nonstop sex with them beat them senseless as well. That'a why they always said 'what daddy used to do', because that besides drinking was all that he did do.

"Are you sure, did you see red marks on muma's face?" Parker asked. He hated Elliot, but if him and his mother were friends for so long then he wouldn't start hitting her, let alone now.

"No, but she was crying, like she used to do." Layla countered.

"Lala, mom cries all the time, that doesn't mean anything." Parker said.

Layla sighed and closed her eyes. Parker knew what that meant, leave me alone before I slap you in the face. He slowly put his hands up in the air and walked back over to the bed, he would just have to wait for her to calm down...


End file.
